The Sign of Salvation – Acts 15:8-9

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Steve

“God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith” (Acts 15:8-9, NLT).

The first-century Church was at first mainly comprised of Jews and Christianity was, in many respects, a sect of Judaism. So it was not surprising that when Gentiles began to believe the gospel, the Jewish leaders in the Church wanted the Gentile converts to be circumcised.

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Doing What God Does – Exodus 20:1-17

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Steve

“Then God gave the people all these instructions: I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. You must not have any other god but me.” (Exodus 20:1-3, NLT).

This verse is the preamble and the first of the Ten Commandments in Exodus Chapter 20. The Ten Commandments are sort of an executive summary of the expanded terms of God’s covenant with the Israelites in Chapters 21-23.

The terms of the covenant specified the behavior the Israelites were expected to demonstrate if they were to be in a covenant relationship with God Almighty. The first four commandments (vs. 2-11) described what our behavior should be in relation to God while the remaining six commandments (vs. 12-17) described what our behavior should be in relation to other human beings.

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Qualified for Membership – Acts 11:15-18

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Steve

“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them, just as on us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Therefore, if God gave them the same gift that He also gave to us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I possibly hinder God? When they heard this they became silent. Then they glorified God, saying, ‘So God has granted repentance resulting in life even to the Gentiles!'” (Acts 11:15-18, HCSB).

Citizenship is generally a function of where you are born. You are a citizen of the country in which you are geographically born or of which your parents are a citizen.

The same is true for citizenship in the Kingdom of God. Kingdom citizens must be born of God; they must be birthed by the Holy Spirit.

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An Offer You Can’t Refuse – Genesis 17:1-2

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Steve

“When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, I am God Almighty. Live in My presence and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you greatly” (Genesis 17:1-2, ESV).

Thirteen years after Ishmael’s birth, God again appeared to Abram, whom He renamed as Abraham during this appearance. In these verses God calls Himself “El Shaddai,” for which the meaning is unknown, but its translation as “God Almighty” is based on a tradition going back more than two thousand years.

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Heaven on Earth – Revelation 21:3

Posted on December 28, 2013 by Steve

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Revelation 21:3, ESV).

If you are planning to go to heaven to be with God when you die, don’t plan to stay there forever because God is coming to live on Earth!

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Holy Spirit Power – Zechariah 4:6

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Steve

“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6, ESV).

The foundation of the temple had been laid after the initial return of the Jews from Babylonian exile, but powerful opposition prevented any further progress on rebuilding the temple for over fifteen years.

In a vision Zechariah saw a golden lamp stand supplied by a never-ending source of oil from two adjacent olive trees. When Zechariah inquired of the Lord what this meant, Zechariah was given a message addressed to Zerubbabel, the governor, who along with Joshua the high priest had been charged with the task of rebuilding the temple upon the Jews return from captivity.

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Small Beginnings, Enormous Endings – Zechariah 4:10

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Steve

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand” (Zechariah 4:10, NLT).

When the first wave of Jewish exiles returned to Judea, they were enthusiastic about rebuilding the Temple that had been destroyed by the Babylonians nearly fifty years earlier. But when their efforts to start rebuilding the Temple were opposed and resisted by neighboring nations and internally by the current inhabitants of the land, the repatriated Jews became discouraged and the Temple continued to lie in ruins for almost twenty more years.

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The Duality Dilemma: Part 3 – Romans 8

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Steve

This meditation is Part 3 in a three-part series of meditations on Romans 6-8.

When Christians forsake themselves and their self-absorbed way of life, they take on the life of Christ and a new way of life in Christ. Romans 6-7 describes the old way of life as living according to the law of sin and death, living according to the flesh. Unfortunately, the old self and the old way of life are not so easily abandoned, even though we are completely saved by Christ, resulting in the inner conflict I call the duality dilemma.

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The Gift That Keeps on Giving – John 15:26

Posted on November 23, 2013 by Steve

“But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me” (John 15:26, NLT).

At the Last Supper Jesus explained to His disciples that He was going away–He was going to be arrested and executed–and so He would send the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, to be with His disciples.

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